REIDSVILLE, N.C. -- Authorities on Monday arrested two men in connection with a rash of thefts from motor vehicles in the Oregon Hill area of Ruffin and Cotton roads and the N.C. 87 areas of Reidsville.

Michael Mooney, 28, and Thomas Patterson, 22, are believed to be responsible for thefts from 36 motor vehicles over the past month in Rockingham County. They also have been charged in connection with the Aug. 31 break-in at Smyrna Presbyterian Church at 3350 N.C. 65 in Reidsville, where a safe was stolen, as well as the Aug. 30 break-in and theft from DJ's Community Mart at 120 Iron Works Rd. in Reidsville and the Aug. 31 attempted break-in to J-Mart at 2257 N.C. 65 in Reidsville.

Mooney and Patterson will each be charged with at least 100 felony violations based on the evidence thus far. They are believed to have been involved with numerous break-ins and thefts in counties surrounding Rockingham as well. Mooney also was charged with nine counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. They both are under substantial secured bonds in the Rockingham County Jail.

The investigation was conducted by the Reidsville Police Department and the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office.

In an unrelated string of thefts, the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office released information about the arrests of Robert Cornelius Rice, 25, and Adrian Lamarr Sides, 25, both of Winston-Salem, for multiple break-ins and thefts across Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth and Davidson counties. They were arrested following a traffic stop by Rockingham County Sheriff's deputies.

In a third and also unrelated theft ring, Anthony Todd Hinton, 44, was charged with break-ins and thefts on three separate occasions from 2105 Bakers Crossroads in Reidsville during the past month. Among the items stolen were three motor vehicles, a 4-wheeler, multiple firearms, a washing machine and a clothes dryer, among other items.

Hinton is in the Rockingham County Jail under a $75,000 secured bond on three counts of larceny, three counts of possession of stolen property and four counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. Additional charges against Hinton are expected.